Float actuating device



Nov. 24, 1959 H. J. MEEK FLOAT ACTUATING DEVICE Filed NOV. 13. 1957 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR HAROLDJ. MEEK Nov. 24, 1959 H, MEEK 2,914,082

FLOAT ACTUATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 13. 195'? 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 im F l S EwA 0 N s e Ui s o n s Y y 5f: .D j?

g m U5 N- i w' i E- INVENTOR 'l HAROLD J. MEEK uw BY f . ATT NEY Nov.24, 1959 H. .LMEEK FLOAT ACTUATING DEVICE Filed Nov. 13, 1957 ssheets-sheet s lHAROLD J. MEEK ATTORY Uni-fed'.

.2,914,082 ,n FLoAT ACTUATING DEVICE Harold I. Meek, Staten Isla-nd,N.Y., assigner to Jjaroco l Engineering Co., Hoboken,NJ a corporation ofNew Jersey- .j I,

The present invention relates to a float actuating device system forcontrolling a remotely positioned valve.I f' l More particularly, thepresent invention relates to a float actuating device for controllingthe operation of a valve that is located in a positionremote from thevalve control station, and which device operates'to fill atank to apreselected level and automatically shut the valve when this level hasbeen reached.

Prior to the instant invention,` the heretofore known control valves foruse in controlling the now of uid in remotely positioned fluid conduitsfor ijlling tanks in ships have been manually operated,` comprising agateyvalve in communication `with the bore of the uid lconduitandcoupled to an elongated stem `that extended upwardly from the -valve andthrough the deck of the ship. con-V trol lever or wheel located onthedeck of the ship was secured to the valvestem and was adapted to bemanually operated to open the remotelypositioned valve andthen to closethe valve `when the desired level of liquid was obtained in the tank.yTheseheretofore known manually operated reach valves `wereobjectionable since they were not only `diiicult to operate by hand dueto faulty seating and rusty gears, but in ships that includedvmultiplecfontrol valve'sthe operator 'had to walk to each controlstation `to operate theassociated valve/llt isffseenfthat during theloading .opera-tion of the vessel;T the" `operator would experiencedifficulty( inmaneuvering'to each valve il* control station and;4 in.addition`,"if any of the-valves failed' toY operate,` the -.loading`operation would be considerably delayed and the cargotanksmightoverflow thuscreating a fire hazard. By `controlling the 'remotelypositioned valves by a iloat actuating device, in accoda'no with the:lll

present invention, ease-,of operatio'nis assured an furthermore a'singlecontrol stationioan-befprovided "fo'rall of the remotely positionedlvalves. i i It is an obj'ectof; the present invention to provide a oatactuating devicefor use indcontrollingf the ow of liquid into` a tank inthe 'holdi'ofmarine vessels wherein a remotely positioned 'valvecontrolledbva control valve is automatically closed bythedevicewhen'ziflpredeter-l mined level ef liquid hee been attained ini tite nek. alevel measuring, indioatingaiid"controllingdevceffor `use with a tank inthehold of marine vessels. f

Other objects ,and ltheffnat'ureand adva ages `of-ltlzle. instantinvention .vvirllfbe` ppafrent frlorn thegfollowing,

drawings, whereirii description taken. inl conjiinc on with l theaccompanying above the .deck ofamarine vessel for controllingtheilow ofiluidlthrough a-onduit extending in to the holdof the vessel-.1 l f5.

Fig.; 24 Vis an enlarged elevational V4view-partly in section of aportion ofthe iloat actuatingldevice.

of the measuring apparatus 2,914,082 llidar-terrieri Nov. 2.4, 1959 Fig.2,. diagrammatically showing the hydraulic system connected with theapparatus of Fig. 4.

Although the present invention is directed primarily toward controllingthe ow of fluid into marine vessels, it is understood that the inventionmay be applied whenever it is desired to control from a remote positionthe now of iluid through a conduit.

Referring now to the drawings, the shell of the marine vessel or shipinto which a uid, such as gasoline, oil, or the like `is adapted to bedirected, is indicatedv at and the deck of the ship is indicated at 12,the space between the shell 10 and deck 12 beingy generally known as theships hold. Extending into the hold of the ship is a fluid conduit 14that is illustrative of the many conduits of the type that are adaptedto convey liquid to tanks or receptacles located in the -ships hold. Asshown, the fluid conduit 14 is supported by a standard 16 mounted ontheshell r10, although itis understood that the iluid condui`t'14may besupported in any convenient manner. It is alsoseen that the fluidconduit 14 may be formed of any suitable material and may extend to anylength of the 'ship or to any tank, as desired. Positioned at someconvenient point in the conduit 14 and preferably located adjacent apoint of entry into a uid receptacle or tank in the hold ofthe ship isavvalve assembly generally indicated atI 18. `The valve assembly 18comprises a valve body 20 which has integrally formed thereon anges 22which are vsecured to similar anges formed on the lluid conduit 14.Located within the valve body 20 is a valve 24 of any suitable design,the valve 24 being adapted tobereoiprocated into and out ofcommunication with the bore of the fluid conduit 14, thereby controllingflow of" fluid through the conduit 14. vSecured to a stern 26thatgoperatively engages the valve 24 is a bevel gear 28, the bevel gearZSengaging a `bevel gear 3l). The bevel gear30 is adapted to berotatedby a hydraulic motor that is indicated at 32, the hydraulic motor32 being of the rotary type of any suitable construction. The hydraulicmotor 32may include aninternal control (not shown) forpreventingrotation of the rotor thereof when the valve 24 istfully opened, therebypreventing the threadsof the sternj26gfrom jamming and being stripped.It is seen that upon rotation of the hydraulic motor 32, the bevel gear28engaging the bevel gear 30, will rotate the stem 26, that `isoperatively connected to the valve 24. Any suitableA translation device(not shown) may be utilized wi'thth'e valve stern 26 -for causing thevalve 24 to be raised` or lowered into communication with the bore ofthe fluid, the uid conduit that is used as exhaust passage dependingupon the desired direction of rotation of the motor 32. t The fluidconduit lines 34 and 36 extend upwardly from the motor 32 and passthrough the deck 12 of the ship. The conduits 34 and 36 communicate witha multi-wayv control Avalve generally indicated at 42, the

Hdesirablerto position the multi-way control valve at suchv multi-waycontrol valve 42 being remotely positioned at any convenient point onthe deck of the ship and being preferably located at a station whichhouses all the uid conduit valve controls. It is seen, therefore, thatit is a point that the operator thereof may control several 3 similarvalves simultaneously, thereby controlling the loading or unloading ofthe uid from the ships tanks or receptacles with a minimum of effortanda maximum of control.

As shown in Figure 1, themulti-way control valve 42 comprises a housing44 which has an internal cavity or chamber 46 formed therein. Slidablypositioned within the control valve chamber 46 is a spool 48 which haslands :'50, 52 and 54 formed thereon for controlling the flow of motivefluid to and from the fluid conduit lines 34 and 36. Cooperating withthe lands 50 and 54 for controlling flow of fluid through the conduits34, 36 are ports 56, 58, the ports being formed in the upper wall of thehousing 44. In order to introduce motive fluid into the chamber 46 afluid inlet port 60 is formed in the housing 44 and is positioned midwaybetween the ports 56, 58. The inlet port 60 thus communicates witheither the conduit 34 or conduit 36 through cavity 46 depending upon thedesired direction of rotation of the motor 32 and consequently thedirection of movement of the valve 24. The spool 48 `is normallymaintained in a neutral position whereby communication between the inletport 60 and conduits 34 or 36 is blocked by the land 52 thereby causingthe valve 24 to be held in the position to which it has been moved. Acoil spring 62 is adapted 'to normally move the spool 48 to the neutralposition and is located in the left side of the control valve housing asseen in Fig. l.

Motive fluid is introduced to the inlet port 60 through a fluid inletconduit 64 that communicates therewith and that is connected to a sourceof motive Huid such asV a fluid inlet header 65. The fluid inlet header65 com# municates with an hydraulic accumulator 66 that is controlsystemis provided, and includes the housing 86 which defines a cylinder and inwhich is located a piston 88.' Secured to the piston 88 is a rod 90 thatextends through an end wall 92 of the cylinder 86, the outer end of therod 90 being pivotally connected at 93 to the lower end of handle 84. Acoil spring 94 encircles the rod 90 within the cylinder 86, abuttingagainst the piston 88 and the inner surface of the-*end wall 92, andthereby normally biasing the piston -88Vtoward the right as seen inFigure 1.` i Resisting the movement of the piston 88 to the rightis abellows 96 that bears against the other surface of the pistonandfagainst the other end wall 98 of the cylinder 86. Communicating withthe interior of the bellows 96 is a hydraulic fluid conduit 100connected thereto. Connected to the opposite end of the conduit 100 isthe housing'31,*which'encloses a similar bellows, thereby defining aclosed fluid system. A hydraulic fluid is disposed in the closed uidsystem.

Indescribing the operation of the hydraulic system as described to-thispoint, itl is first assumed that the valve 2,4v is closed. rl`he.controlhandle 84 is moved to the open position. rEhe `spring 6,2 is" expanded,spool 48 is moved, to thel right and motive uid is directed to theconduit34 by way of conduit 6,4, port 60 and port 56.

adapted to provide a constant supply of motive fluid Y.

under pressure to the multi-way control valve 42. Lo` ,fcated in theaccumulator is a floating piston 68 thatl divides the accumulator intoan upper pressure chamber 79 and a lower chamber 72. The upper chamber70 of. the hydraulic accumulator is adapted to be supplied with a gasmedium under pressure, such as nitrogen, thereby precharging the upperchamber 70 to a predetermined pressure. The lower chamber 72 is adaptedto have introduced therein the hydraulic motive fluid which is directedtherein by a variable positive displacement pump "74. The pump 74 isdriven by a motor 76 and is pro-p` vided with a pressure holding device,whereby when the pressure ofthe fluid in the chamber 72 reaches a prede`termined amount, depending upon the prechargedpres# sure of the mediumin the chamber 70, the pump 74willA float on the line, that is, it willnot continue to pump niotive fluid into the chamber 72. When thepressure in the chamber 72 falls below the predetermined pressure, thepressure holding device will then respond'to cause theV pump 74 tooperate to supply the necessary amount of fluid to the chamber 72 untilthe predetermined pressure',

therein is again reached. The pressure holding device will then operateto cause the pump to once more float on the line. Communicating with thepump74 through a fluid conduit line 78 is a reservoir 80 which receivesVthe discharge fluid from Vthe exhaust line 81 and passageway 83 by wayof a fluid conduit line 82, the fluid conduitline 82 alsocommunicating'with other similar hydraulic sys-I tems throughout theship.

The follow-up indicating system is only illustrated diagrammatically andincludes a control handle 84 thatfis pivotally secured at 85 adjacentthe extended end ofthe' spool 48. The follow-up indicating system ismore par ticularly described in copending application Serial No.v

586,867, filed May 23, 1956, now Patent No. 2,888,029..

and is adapted to indicate on a calibrated scale, noti Simultaneously,uidis exhausted through conduit 36, port 58, passage 83 and exhaustconduit 81. The position of the valve 24 is instantaneously indicated bythe follow-up indicating system, the rod 29 moving upwardly in responseto rotation o f shaft 26 thereby compressing the bellows in housing 31and forcing hydraulic fluid into bellows-9`6fthereby moving the piston88 and rod 90 to left. 'lfhepivot point 9 3 is shifted accordingly, andthehandle 84 isrnoved steadily to the right about` pivot pointf'lSS aslthe valve 24 opens. When the handle 84 reaches'the fully open position,additional movement of the-fred; to the left then moves the spool 48 tothe left td'cause the sponogl land 5,2 to lap the port 60 andsftopytvhhe flow` of fluid to motor 32. The operator then releases 'handlcm844' and'I the VVVspring 62 shifts the handle 84 slightly' so thatthe control valve 42 is then located again in neutral position.

With the valve 24 in the open position, liquid will flow through theinlet conduit 14 to fill a tank located in the hold of4 the ship. Whenthe tank is filled to the desired level, heretoforethe control handlewas shifted in the opposite direction manually, thereby closing thevalve 24. "According to theV present invention, the closing of the valve24 is vaccomplished automatically by use of the measuring apparatus andoperating device to be describedA hereafter.

Aperationally. connected to the spool 48 of the valve 42 isVa..irnelasuring apparatus best illustrated in Figures 3 and"4 andanoperating device shown in Figures 2 and 5.

A s shown in the plan view of Figure 4, the measuring which cannotmovealong the length of the shaft 110 isr apparatus is positionedperpendicularly to the axis of the spool`4'8 whereas the operatingdevice is positioned aldng the same axis' as. that of the spool 4 8. Themeasuring device indicatesfthe'liquid level in the tank when its Lclutch isdiseng'aged. Wheny its clutch is engaged, it is preset to thedesired liquidl level, and the operating device actuated' when thispreset liquid level in the tank has been reached.

The measuring device includesl a sprocket 102 over l whichf'pas'ses avchain 104 having a oat 106 suspended at""one end"thereof"and'a weight108 suspended on the otheren'd.4r Theoat'10'6 is housed `in a oathousing 107 and the weight 108 is housed in a Weight housing 109. Thehousings prevent swinging of the suspended float and weight. The weight108 is preferably equal to the weight ofthe chain 104y and acts as avcounter balance so that only the; wei'ght'of the float 106 is effective.Ihe sprocket 102 is mounted on a shaft 110 to which is attached bysplines 1'1-1'the clutch part 112. The clutch part 112 is"'povided withteeth `115 which have angular contact faces. A spind1e-s1eeve'-114kisloosely located on shaft 110 adjacent to the clutch 1'12l and, islikewise provided with teeth 117l adapted toi' engage the teeth 115. Thesleeve 114 can be moved longitudinally along the `shaft 110 bymanualmeans such asbya lever which can be attached thereto. The clutchpart 112 and sleeve 114 are biased apart by a spring 119'which tends todisengage the teeth. The torque on theshaft .110 resulting from theweight of the oat suspendedfrom the sprocket 102 acting on the angularContact faces tends to force the teeth into deeper engagement. Thus,when the teeth of the sleeve 114 are manually r`moved into engagementwith the teeth of the clutch part 112, the torque due to the weight ofthe iloat overcomes the spring pressure and maintains the teeth inengagement. 4Decreasedtorque reduces this engagement force to amagnitude which is insuicient to restrain the spring 119whose functionis to disengage the teeth. A trigger lever 113 is attached'to thespindle sleeve 114 at a point corresponding to the "center line of theaxis of the spool 48 and the operating device. Also mounted on the shaft110 is a thrust bearing 116, a sleeve coupling 118, a worm gear reducer120and a hand crank 122. This is a conventional arrangement asillustrated in Boston Gear Catalog No. 56, copyright 1956, on pages 271,418 and 460. A shaft 124 is operationally connected to the lgear reducer120 and extends therefrom atan angle perpendicular to that of the shaft110; `Mounted on the shaft 124 is the indicator 126. The indicator 126is gradu* ated along its circumference to indicate the liquid level inthe tank. The shaft 110' is supported adjacent the crank 122 by abracket 128. AnA indicator bracket 130 is provided as is a movablereference arm 132. A scale 134 is mounted on the indicator bracket 132.The scale 134 is a gravity indicator and preferably has a range of0.7-1.0. This is used to correct the readings for differences in thespecific gravity of the liquid which is being measured.

Thus, when the clutch part 112 is not engaged with the sleeve 114, thedevice functions as a highly accurate tank gauge which can be correctedfor variations in specific gravity by shifting the movable reference arm132 along the calibrated gravity scale 134. The depth of fluid beinggauged may then be read at any time directly from the ullage indicatordial 126.

The measuring apparatus described above is mounted at right angles tothe axis of the spool 48 of the control valve with its shaft 110 at ahigher level than the axis of the spool 48. The trigger lever 113depends from the spindle sleeve 114 and extends across the axis of thevalve spool 48. The trigger lever 113 is mounted between an extension136 of the valve spool 48 and the piston shaft 138 of the operatingdevice. The operating device includes a cylinder 140 which houses twopistons 142 and 144 separated by a spring 146. The piston shaft 138 isattached to the piston 142 and vextends out of the left end Wall of thecylinder 140 and a piston shaft 148 attached to the piston 144 extendsout of the right end wall of the cylinder 140. 'Ille piston shaft 148 issupported by a bracket 150. The shaft 148 is provided with an area 154of reduced diameter adapted to be engaged by the upper end of a latchlever 156. At the end of the shaft 148 is mounted a handle 152 which isutilized for reciprocating the shaft 148 to the left to compress thespring 146 and to latch the shaft 148.

A latch release mechanism which is used to unlatch shaft 148 and allowspring 146 to become decompressed is best illustrated in Fig. 5 andincludes a latch release cylinder 158 which houses a piston 160 attachedto one end of a piston rod 162. The piston rod 162 passes through an endwall of the cylinder 158 and is pivotally attached at its other end tothe lower end of latch lever 156. A spring 164 is housed between thepiston 160 and the end wall of the cylinder 158. The latch lever 156 ispivoted at an intermediate point 166. In its normal position, the pistonrod 162 is in the full line position of Fig. 5 with the upper. end ofthe ,latch lever 1'56 in'enf gagement Withthe reduced area 154 of theshaft 148. Thus, it can be seen that when the'shaft 148 is moved to theleft as seen in Fig. 2, the spring 164 in the cylinder 158 will forcethe latch lever 156 into engagement with the reduced diameter 154 of theshaft 148 and thus retain it in the cocked position.

The latch release cylinder 158 is provided with an inlet port 168 and anoutlet port 170 forreceiving motive fluid when it is to be actuated. Theinlet port 168 is connected by conduit 172 through a torquelimit reliefvalve 176 p to conduit 36 which conducts motive fluid to the valveactuating motor 32 during the closing of valve 24. The outlet port 170is connected by conduit 174 to conduit 34 which directs motive fluidfrom the motor 32 during the closing of the valve 24.` A pressure reliefvalve 99 is located in conduit 178 which connects conduits 34 and 36.' n

The operation of the entire device in automatically closing the valve 24at the desired liquid level will now be described. Hand crank 122 isturned, thus simultaneously raising the float 106 and indicating Aareading on the ullage indicator 126. When the desired level of liquid asindicated on .the indicator-126 is shown,'the sleeve 114 is manuallymoved along the shaft 110 until the teeth of the sleeve 114 and theteeth of the clutch part 112' are in engagement in opposition to thepressure of the spring 119. By releasing the hand crank 122, the weightof the float 10'6 which is now suspended above the liquid level' in thetank, acts to exert a torque on the clutch part 112 and sleeve 114 whichovercomes the pressure of the spring 119 and maintains the teeth inengagement at the desired level of the float 106.1 In this condition,a-counterclock wise turning moment is imposed on'sprocket 102 bytheweight of the float 106 which is suspended in the float housing 107 atthe desired fluid level in the tank. The

, resulting torque on shaft 110 not only acts to maintain engagement ofthe teeth and 117 of the clutch arrangement, but also is transmittedthrough clutch 112 and spindle sleeve 114 to trigger lever 113 which inturn exerts an impressed pressure through piston rod 138 and restrainsthe action of the spring 146 in actuating cylinder 140'. This spring isthen compressed by forcing the locking handle 152 to the left and shaft148 into engagement with the latch lever 156.

`When the liquid in the cargo tank in the hold reaches the preselectedlevel shown on ullage indicator 126, otation of the oat 106 on thesurface of the liquid removes the turning moment and torque from thesprocket 102, which allows clutch part 112 to disengage under theiniiuence of spring 119 'and to release the trigger lever 113,permitting the spring 146 in the actuating cylinder to force the rods138 and 136 to the left (Fig. 2) thus moving the spool 48 in the controlvalve 42 to the left, lthereby directing hydraulic fluid to causeclosing of the cargo valve 24 in the hold. Motive uid is directed to theconduit 36 by way of conduit 64, port 60 and port 58. Simultaneously,iluid is exhausted through conduit 34, port 56, passage 83, and exhaustconduit 81. When the cargo valve 24 reaches a fully closed position, thepressure of the uid builds up until torque limit relief valve 176 opens.For example, the torque limit relief valve 176 is set to open at 1000lbs. pressure and the second relief valve 99 is set to open at 100 lbs.,thus supplying pressure fluid to supply the latch release cylinder 158through conduit 172 and port 168. The uid exhausts through port 170 andconduit 174.

The pressure of the motive uid on the piston 160 causes it to move tothe right (Figure 5) against the action of spring 164 to shift the latchlever 156 out of contact with the shaft 148. This in turn releases thepressure on the spring 146 in actuating cylinder 140 and on the rods 138and 136 and spool 48. The spool 48 which is spring centered by spring 62will thus return to the neutral position closing off inlet port 52.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that varions changes maybeY made without departing from the spirit of the invention andtherefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the'drawingsand described in' tlie specification, but Ionly asindicated in theappended claims. i'

' 'What isv claimed is:

1.. A oat actuating means comprising a shaft, a oat suspended from saidshaft and so'mounted that the weight of said iioat transmits a torque tosaid shaft, said oat extending downwardly into a space to be filled witha liquid up to the level of said ioat, a clutch part secured to, saidvshaft for 'rotation therewith, a sleevel loosely mounted onsad`shaftadjacent 'said clutch'part, intere'ng'a'ging sets of teeth nsaid'clutch part and said sleeve whereby when said clutchpart and Vsaidsleeve are interenga'ged said shaft and said sleeve rotate together,resilient means` mounted between said clutch part and said sleeve actingto disengage said sleeve from said clutch part, said setsof teethbeing's'o shaped that the torque imposed on said shaft by the weight ofsaid unsupported iioat tends to overcome the action of said resilientmeans and maintain said teeth in engagement and when said liquid levelengages said -oat to remove said torque, said resilient meansV acts todisengage said teeth, and means attached to said sleeve for actuating adevice upon disengagement of said teeth thereby releasing said sleevefrom said clutch part when the liquid level in said space rises toengage said oat and overcome the torque due to the weight of said float.

2. A oat actuating means comprising a shaft, a sprocket mounted on saidshaft, a chain in engagement with said sprocket, a float attached to oneend of said chain, said one end of said chain and oat extending into aspace to be iilled with a liquid up to the level of said float, theweight of said oat transmitting a torque to said shaft, a clutchv partsecured to said shaft for rotation therewith, a sleeve loosely mountedon said shaft adjacent said clutch part, interengaging s ets of teeth onsaid clutch part andsaid sleeve whereby when said clutch part and saidsleeve are interengaged said shaft and saidv sleeve rotate together,resilient means mounted between said clutch part'and said sleeve actingto disengage said sleeve from said clutch part, said sets of teeth beingso shaped that'the torque imposed on said shaft by the weight of saidunsupported float tends to Vovercome the action of said resilient meansand'maintain said teeth in engage-v ment and when said liquid levelengages said oat to remove said torque, said resilient means acts todisengage said teeth, and means attached to said sleeve for actuat-` inga device upon disengagement of said teeth thereby releasing saidsleevefromsa'id clutch part whenV the liquid level in said spacerises'to engage said float and overcome fthe' torque due to the weightof said oat.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED4 STATES PATENTS 607,286sharp July 12, 1898, 1,058,238 Hixon Apr. 8, 1913 1,144,849 Kingberry etal lune 29, 1915 1,327,999 Hill Ian. 13, 1920 1,529,218 Sandwell Mar.10, 1925 2,192,963 Davis Mar. 12, 1940 2,261,494 Elverston Nov. 4, 19412,464,456l McGillis et al Mar. 15, 1949 2,594,664 Livers et al. Apr. 29,1952 2,814,303 vFifer Nov. 26, 1957

